What I didn't count on was that Penguins fans would allow excusable homerism to cloud an inexcusable disregard for reality.

But then when you read the comments, it gets far worse. Maybe it's because it's early... but it really pissed me off this morning. I generally like Puck Daddy's stuff... but what's wrong with people?! The commenter Stick Boy is the worst. I've never read a more misinformed opinion in my life.

I like how that one guy says that due to the loss of Whitney, the Pens will hover around .500 for a while. I'm one of the few people that didn't crucify Whitney for everything last season, but that's the typical misinformed outside opinion about this team. Why would they miss a guy that much who really didn't have a good regular season last year? Of course, he also mentions that they'll miss Conklin a lot. Just more of the same, building up minor pieces as key difference makers. Aside from a ten game stretch, Conklin was never anything that special. And during that magic run he had, Crosby and Malkin were doing very well together. When Conklin started cooling down, Malkin was carrying the team on his back. And that brings me to the other "missing piece" in Malone. Another guy that was carried by Malkin.

Obviously what these people say now means nothing but it is very strange to see the constant theme that the Pens will miss minor guys like Malone, Conklin, Roberts while Crosby is never mentioned (he missed 29 games last year, remember). A 21 year old Crosby that is still not even at his peak. Malkin is never mentioned... the guy that carried the team while Crosby was out and is similarly before his prime. Staal is never mentioned... a 20 year old who could really break out this season. Like I've said before though, it's probably a good thing that the talking heads are underrating the Pens. They don't have to deal with the pressure of being expected to win the Cup. Instead they have the motivation to prove everyone wrong.

Wow. I can't believe that a big-time NHL blogger would think the Penguins are gonna finish 6th or 7th in the East. I was gonna rip him a new one here but I chose to e-mail him instead. Yes, I got worked up.

Here's my e-mail to Puck Daddy:

Hey Puck Daddy...

I like your blog but with all due respect, I can't believe this statement coming from you.

After that, they will likely go on a streak and get just enough points to grab a 6th or 7th seed in the East (97 points). In the playoffs, they can definitely win a round or two if the matchups are right.

Isn't this the most likely scenario for the Penguins this season?

Are you out of your mind? Please tell me the 5 or 6 teams that you think will finish ahead of the Penguins this season. I think you're gonna have a tough time coming up with a good case for more than 2 or 3 teams. Ottawa's a possibility, I believe, but their defense is a huge question mark. And Montreal is as well, but those 2 teams are in the same division so unless the Penguins DON'T win the Atlantic division this year, both of those teams can't finish higher than the Pens. And the chances of the Penguins NOT winning the Atlantic are not very good. The Flyers lost Umberger and didn't add anybody that will make a significant impact, and we saw what the Penguins can do to that lineup in the playoffs. Yes, Hossa was a big part of that, but regardless, the Penguins are still clearly a better team than the Flyers. The Devils added a bunch old timers like Holik, but Brodeur is aging and despite adding Brian Rolston, I still question their offense with the exception of Zach Parise. I expect the Rangers to have another finish in the 5th-8th seeds, most likely at the bottom at 7th or 8th. The loss of Jagr is huge. An aging Markus Naslund and a soft Wade Redden are NOT the answer for them. The only way the Rangers can challenge the Penguins is if they add Mats Sundin and Henrik Lundqvist has a Vezina type year, which is possible, but then again, they didn't finish ahead of the Penguins with exceptional back to back years from Lundqvist AND Jaromir Jagr in 06-07 and 07-08.

So that leaves Tampa Bay and Washington as the 2 teams that any sane person would suggest could finish ahead of the Penguins. Tampa's a circus with a coach who has been working with freakin ESPN for the last 14 years, and no one knows how good they'll be. The Caps showed a lot of promise but there's a big question mark there with Jose Theodore, and their defense is still not very good.

So the Penguins are clearly the favorites in the Atlantic with back to back MVP nominees that will only continue to get better (something no other team in the NHL has) and an exceptional young goalie, plus a stud 3rd line center who will likely make the the move to the wing on the top 2 lines in Jordan Staal.

I would say that Ottawa and Montreal COULD finish ahead of the Pens in the standings. But still, even with Montreal, they got a big question mark with Carey Price. The Devils have a shot. Same for the Rangers IF they add Sundin. That's about it in my opinion. The Penguins don't have any weaknesses. They added some toughness to replace Laraque with Eric Godard and Jarkko Ruutu with Matt Cooke, but that's not gonna really come into play until the playoffs. They're clearly a contender. And you agreeing with whoever that moron was saying the Penguins will most likely finish 6th or 7th really makes you look like you don't know much about the NHL.

Ottawa only finished 7th because they had lots of problems in the locker room and a lack of leadership. If you question Crosby's leadership after the way he played in the playoffs, you're out of your mind. Oh, and Conklin, yes, I think we will miss him, but Sabourin is an OK backup and if Fleury plays 60 games or so, we'll be OK. So basically we're in trouble IF he gets hurt. In the playoffs, did he look like he was still injured to you?

So PLEASE, either reply directly to me OR put up a new blog post about the Penguins explaining your asinine opinion on where they'll finish...

Ivan

I made the mistake of forgetting Gonchar, Orpik, and Scuderi, who was a stud in the playoffs, and the rest of our defense which continues to improve.

Yeah, but ya know at the same time I think it's readily apparent that it's come to the point that anytime a blogger/columnist elicits the name of Sidney Crosby on an online article that can be commented on that it's just fuel for the fire...